Among the Avatar-themed cutest collectible cards is a formidable little powerhouse.
MTG’s collaboration with Avatar isn't set to become widely available until later this week, yet after pre-releases this past weekend, one cheap green card experienced a surge in market worth.
Even during previews, Badgermole Cub drew a lot of attention. A 2/2 priced at G and 1 mana, Badgermole Cub includes level 1 earthbending (perhaps the strongest among the four bending abilities in the set). The major perk here comes from its second ability: Whenever you tap a creature for mana, it provides bonus green mana.
At its cheapest, the card was available below $30. After the pre-release weekend, though, the market price has shot up to $49.66 with at least one listed as high as $60. The reason for such high costs for this cute lil guy? Primarily due to the explosive mana ramping it enables.
As it hits the battlefield, this creature converts one land into a creature granting it earthbend. And with that second ability, if it remains on the board, every earthbent land produces twice the mana — along with other creatures on your side that generate mana.
The obvious go-to to combine with is this one-mana elf, a cheap 1/1 that produces G mana. But many other mana generation creatures out there. This particular druid costs a bit more a 1/3 creature at a two-mana value as an alternative.
Using land cards, dorks that generate resources, plus the cub, it's simple to summon a massive pricey threat on the board by round three or four. And things just keep spiraling rapidly if you keep the pressure on from there.
By incorporating a secondary color with this approach, cards like these mana-fixing creatures are all great options that can make any mana color. Another card, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove allows you to put an additional land per turn as well as turns your entire land base providing all land types. Another possibility is for example this six-mana enchantment, costing six mana grants all of your permanents the capacity to be tapped for a mana of any type — which covers any creature under your control.
This card could be too strong when it comes to boosting mana production, but how do you win with this archetype? An often-seen solution is this legendary creature. Power and toughness match the number of lands you control, and it makes your non-token creatures to be Forests as well as other subtypes. This means, each creature you control may generate two green mana if used for mana.
Another creature is another expensive, beefy creature which gains from many terrain cards (as with the previous card, its stats are equal to your land total).
Nissa is an excellent fit in this deck. Her passive ability allows Forest lands tap for one more G. (If you have the cub, this results in each one yield three G.) One loyalty ability functions like an early earthbend, placing counters on terrain, handy but does not overlap with the cub's ability. Her -8 ability, on the other hand, grants each land you control indestructible and lets you draw out every Forest left in the deck. Should you manage to use the ultimate, this typically means the game ends.
This card is pretty much essential for any kind of green-based Avatar strategies focusing on Earthbending. If you dip into red-green, there’s this legendary card. It possesses level 4 earthbending, and when it hits a player to an opponent, all land creatures are ready again and can attack again. While that version is a fan favorite Commander, this small creature is definitely going to remain one of the most, maybe the sought-after card in the Avatar set.